Welcome to SSA
Ikuo Yamaguchi Memorial Seminar
“The Geography of Urban Poverty: Connecting Help to High Need Communities”
Presented by: Associate Professor Scott Allard, Ph.D.
Thursday, November 12
4:00 – 5:00 pm, Reception following
R.S.V.P. by Monday, November 9 to 773.702.1172 or hmay@uchicago.edu
For more information visit SSA's lecture pages.
SSA Dean Search
Jeanne C. Marsh, Dean and George Herbert Jones Distinguished Service Professor, will complete her term as Dean on June 30, 2010. Consequently, the University of Chicago School of Social Service Administration has begun a comprehensive and international search for her replacement.

SSA Magazine: Weaving a Better Net
Associate Professor Scott W. Allard discusses how debate about policy responses to the current recession offers an opportunity to reflect upon how the safety net helps low income Americans and how we might strengthen it....
Read the rest of the article here
Read the current SSA Magazine here
- In Treatment, featuring Dean Jeanne C. Marsh
- Elder Statesmen, featuring Assistant Professor Malitta Engstrom
- Giving in Hard Times, featuring Assistant Professor Jennifer Mosley
- A Community Under Construction, featuring Associate Professor Robert Chaskin
- Don't Run: Conversation, featuring Assistant Professor Gina Miranda Samuels
SSA Magazine: Add the Dad
Fatherhood initiatives are exploring how to bring more men into family social services. Assistant Professor Jennifer Bellamy discusses these efforts and more in this article.
Read the article hereSSA Magazine: Get Well Soon
Does parents' low-wage work impact children's health? Assistant Professor Heather D. Hill discusses this question in this article.
William Borden: New Book
Senior Lecturer William Borden’s new collection of essays, Reshaping Theory in Contemporary Social Work: Toward a Critical Pluralism in Clinical Practice, reaffirms the place of theory in social work practice, showing how different theoretical models, therapeutic languages, and modes of intervention strengthen integrative approaches to intervention.
Read the press release here
Student Spotlight: The Next Generation
Amzie Moore follows in the footsteps of his father, a leading light in the fight for civil rights...
Alumni Spotlight: A Person in Context

As Jonathan Wildt finds his place in the world of international social work, he provides a social work perspective in Darfur
CHICAGO CONTRIBUTES: "Access After Health Care Reform" and "The Role of Higher Education in Improving Urban Schools"
The University of Chicago hosted "Chicago Contributes," in Washington, D.C. -- a day-long dialogue on federal and local efforts to expand access to health care and improve student performance in urban schools. President Robert J. Zimmer hosted the events, which featured keynote speeches from U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and U.S. Department of Education Secretary and former SSA Visiting Committee member Arne Duncan, and panels with Tim Knowles, Director of the Urban Education Institute and Charles Payne, Frank P. Hixon Professor, SSA.
View videos, photos, and story.
Professional Development Program
Upcoming workshops include:
November 6, 2009:
- Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementias
- Revisiting the Theory and Practice of the Therapeutic Milieu
November 13, 2009:
- Clinical Supervision: Tending the Professional Self
- Essential Tools for Field Instruction
- Legal Aspects of Clinical Practice
- The Gottman Method of Couples Therapy: Level I Certification
For Prospective Students
We invite Prospective Students to learn more about the School of Social Service Administration: program options, degree requirements, the application process, financial aid, and our new 15-month Accelerated Program and BA/MA Program. Please contact Mary Debose at 773-834-8104 or 1-866-213-6794.
NOTE APPLICATION DEADLINES: The first Application deadline for the AM program is December 1, 2009. And the deadline for the PhD program application is December 15, 2009. Apply here.
View all Admissions and application information
Newsroom
SSA News and Media Appearances
The most current media placements about SSA, our faculty and their research, alumni, and students.
Visit us on Facebook
View a video about SSA's impact on Chicago
Current Student News
Latino Student Association Coat Drive
November 2-20, Various drop-off locations throughout SSA
Donate coats, hats, gloves, new socks, toiletries, pots, pans, and utensils. Items will be donated to a local domestic violence shelter. This effort is in collaboration with the African American Student Association, the Alpha Omega Christian Ministry, and the Feminist Student Association.
Diversity Committee Meeting
Thursday, November 5, 4:30-5:30 pm in Room BWII
The Diversity Committee develops initiatives aimed at supporting and promoting diversity within the SSA community.
Diversity in the Workplace Networking Conference
Thursday, November 5, 6-9 pm, Quadrangle Club
Students can meet and network with alumni of color and LGBTQ alumni. Keynote presented by John Rogers, University Trustee and Chair and CEO of Ariel Capital Management, Inc. and William Michel, Asst. Vice President for Student Life in the University and Asst. Dean of the College. Registration is required. Please register here.
Michael Davis Seminars
All seminars are from 12:00-1:30 pm in Room W-IV
Thursday, November 5
Ancestors and Antiretrovirals: The Politics and Practices of Healing in Post-Apartheid South Africa Claire Decoteau, Assistant Professor, Department of Sociology, University of Illinois at Chicago
Wednesday, November 18
Bernice A. Pescosolido, Ph.D., Distinguished Professor of Sociology, Director of the Indiana Consortium for Mental Health Services Research, Indiana University
AASA Game Night
Friday, Nov. 6th, 7:00-9:00 pm, SSA Lobby
Come play Wii, Karaoke Machine, Taboo, Cranium, Cards, and lots more!
Food will be served. IDs are required.
Networking for Today’s Marketplace
Saturday, November 7, 1:00 – 4:00 pm, SSA Lobby
The SSA Alumni Association and the Office of Career Services invite you to the annual “Networking for Today’s Marketplace” an event designed to provide lively discussion about how to network effectively and allow you to practice networking among alumni and students. Heather Barnes, AM ’99, Director of Guest Experiences at the Museum of Science and Industry will deliver a keynote presentation entitled “Networking: Art or Science?”
Space is limited so please RSVP by November 3rd to the following website: https://ssanet.uchicago.edu/RSVP/Event.cfm?id=20091107.
Refreshments will be provided
OUTreach campfire
Saturday, November 7, 5:00 pm
OUTreach will meet for a campfire with s'mores at Promontory Point Park.The Community & Economic Development Organization (CEDO) -- first meeting
Monday, November 9, 4:30pm, SSA Lobby
CEDO is a collaborative student organization between the SSA and the Harris School of Public Policy dedicated to promoting community awareness and activities that foster sustainability and improves the quality of life in underserved neighborhoods. If you have any questions or want to be added to our email listserve contact: Daryl Flink dflink@uchicago.edu or Julia Conte jconte24@gmail.com
Refreshments will be provided
International Social Welfare students group -- first meeting
Tuesday November 10 at 4pm, Room WIV
Professor Chaskin will join us at 4:30pm (both dates) to talk about the plan to support and attract international perspectives & ideas at SSA. We will also discuss: Summer fellowship opportunity to work abroad; SSA essay contest on international topics; Fundraising efforts.
Health Care Reform - A Discussion with Harold Pollack
Wednesday, November 11, 12-1pm: SSA, Room WIV
Professor Pollack will lead a discussion on the current state of Health Care Reform in the U.S., and also how the recent addition of the public option by Senator Reid changes the dynamic of the debate. Lunch will be provided. Please RSVP to Melissa Howard at mmhoward@uchicago.edu by November 6, 2009.Workshop on Finding Information for Practice
Three 3-hour workshops will be offered: morning and afternoon workshops on Friday, November 13; afternoon workshop for EEP students on Saturday, November 14. You may sign up for a workshop on the sheet at the reception desk in the SSA lobby.
Learn how to formulate social work practice questions and how to use an electronic search to locate journal articles to answer these questions.
Education Brown-Bag Lunch
Wednesday, November 18, 12:15 pm, Room EI
Learn more about School-based programs at SSA. Sarah Duncan will lead a discussion and answer questions.




